Jessica Smith Strong + Centered Reviews and Feedback

[bjones]

I have noticed improvement in my posture and back strength with this series. I'm also doing Classical Stretch Season 14 one episode each evening and that is very complementary to this series. Enjoying both of them!

[Kizzy]

Originally Posted by bjones

I have noticed improvement in my posture and back strength with this series. I'm also doing Classical Stretch Season 14 one episode each evening and that is very complementary to this series. Enjoying both of them!

This is encouraging too!!! I've noticed myself slouching more since being sick.
I also like it that Jessica works so much on balance.

[donnamp]

My final thoughts!

I completed the Strong & Centered Rotation! It is a miracle, LOL!

I did substitute at times, and during the last half of the rotation where she sometimes scheduled 2 workouts I often did not do both - except if it were stretching or the floor fusion workout.

Overall, I enjoyed the set - obviously since i stuck with it! I found it very doable. The pace moves slow enough so that you can watch your form. You can modify (for instance, I did not lean as far forward as Jessica and I took breaks when needed, I did not always use the gliders, etc.). It is hard to measure "results" but I think overall my stamina improved and my back has been really good (knock wood!)

I think the back stuff may be a combo of things and not entirely attributable to this plan - although I think her focus on posture and upper back stuff may helped. I also think some of it has to do w/ being more consistent w/ CS, giving up Pahla's workouts (sadly) and generally just being more open to modifying and proceeding cautiously.

I'm glad I got it done! For now I plan to move on to her Summer of Strength and give that a try - I think one of the things that made this easier to stick with was that only 5 days a week were 'scheduled' - Summer of Strength is the same, so that is one reason why I chose that to be my next rotation.

For those of you that have Strong & Centered, how does Lift & Shift compare? I did not get L&S b/c I thought the longer workouts and focus on strength training would not suit me - but S&C did have some longer workouts and I got through them. Is L&S a step up or about the same?

Take care,

Donna

[JENILU]

Originally Posted by donnamp

My final thoughts!

I completed the Strong & Centered Rotation! It is a miracle, LOL!

I did substitute at times, and during the last half of the rotation where she sometimes scheduled 2 workouts I often did not do both - except if it were stretching or the floor fusion workout.

Overall, I enjoyed the set - obviously since i stuck with it! I found it very doable. The pace moves slow enough so that you can watch your form. You can modify (for instance, I did not lean as far forward as Jessica and I took breaks when needed, I did not always use the gliders, etc.). It is hard to measure "results" but I think overall my stamina improved and my back has been really good (knock wood!)

I think the back stuff may be a combo of things and not entirely attributable to this plan - although I think her focus on posture and upper back stuff may helped. I also think some of it has to do w/ being more consistent w/ CS, giving up Pahla's workouts (sadly) and generally just being more open to modifying and proceeding cautiously.

I'm glad I got it done! For now I plan to move on to her Summer of Strength and give that a try - I think one of the things that made this easier to stick with was that only 5 days a week were 'scheduled' - Summer of Strength is the same, so that is one reason why I chose that to be my next rotation.

For those of you that have Strong & Centered, how does Lift & Shift compare? I did not get L&S b/c I thought the longer workouts and focus on strength training would not suit me - but S&C did have some longer workouts and I got through them. Is L&S a step up or about the same?

Take care,

Donna

Oooh!! this is so inspiring me!! Thankyou!! It makes me really want to try, but when I have on the single weights workouts I've had to cut them in half (except for the band one). (because of my issues, not her or the DVDs.). Maybe since my body is saying thats what i could do, I could do that with walking and keep it in order but take days in between some places for some of my feel good stuff. I wonder if doing something quite that loose still has benefits- I hope. I am sure its better than just the recumbant (the only plus being i don't tire out and can do almost 2 hours if I am reading and watching youtube. Gotta be some benefit to that too, lol. My stamina doesn't go far on anything else).
Just knowing it truly helped your poster really makes me want to get thru it!! When you say "back" do you mean back strength or back pain or both?

I know there were posts, either here or in the other thread about the DVDs where people compared this program to the others. The main thing I could remember was that L&s was longer than any of her programs (workout length). I think theysaid (or she did) she had added things or added links to things you could supplement or it was in with it. I can't remember. But I think it was atleast a step up from this one (I know others will say better. i just remember being interested and hearing those bits (the other WO's may have been for busy days and more cardio?) i'm no help. Thankyou for the inspiration to do it and get thru it!!

[Anne29]

Congrats on finishing the rotation, Donna! I’m in Week 7, so I’m nearing the finish line as well. I’m making little adjustments to the rotation to make it work for me as well. I don’t always do the extra workout she suggests for Month 2. One strength workout is usually enough for me, but I did enjoy the combo she proposed for Day 40 (Full Body Flow and then the Pilates Ball Core), so maybe I’ll give some of her other combos a try as I head into the final weeks. I’m loving having that “Optional Movement” day each week, and I think it’s made the rotation easy to follow. I often use it for yoga (usually a 60 min vinyasa class from Yoga Anytime) and I throw it in whenever I’m needing it. So I don’t always stick with the rotation as listed. For instance, I might do Day 36 Lower Body workout and then Day 37 Upper Body workout and then instead of doing the cardio she has listed the next day, I’ll give myself a yoga day, and then continue with the rest of the week’s workouts and then take the rest day. It’s working really well, and I’m so happy to have found a rotation that’s challenging without depleting me.

Regarding how S & C compares to L & S. I did two L & S workouts recently—I just felt like I was up for more of a challenge, so I thought I’d give them a try. (I did about 6 weeks of the L & S rotation back when it first came out, but I’ve never completed the whole rotation.) I did the Lower Body workout from L & S last week and it starts out pretty comparable to the Lower Body workout on S & C. But then for the last 15 minutes, instead of switching to floor work as she does in S & C, you have another circuit of lower body moves. So it definitely requires more stamina to keep going with standing moves for another 15 minutes.

I also did one of her Total Body Strength workouts from L & S (the Stamina one). All the moves were solid and straightforward—a squat to an overhead press, deadlifts, chest press, lat rows, then core work and a kind of cobra move. She encourages you to do the squats more slowly and deeply though, so you really feel the full range of motion. This one has you repeat the set two more times, and I was honestly pretty spent by the end of the second round. That was at the 30 min mark.

The thing I remember about L & S is that the warmups and cooldowns are very short, so if a workout says it’s 54 minutes long, it’s a good 50 minutes of solid work. The sets are longer, the reps are often slower so they really tax your core by the end of a set, and there are often balance challenges added to them as well. I think they’re great workouts, but I’m thinking I might give myself another month of S & C before I move on to L & S. I feel like S & C is helping me build the core strength I need for those long sets in L & S, plus I think my pelvis and upper back/shoulders are getting better aligned thanks to S & C.

I read on the L & S site that she’s working on a rotation that combines S & C and L & S. I don’t know how long it’ll be, but it sounds great. She said she’ll have it ready by the middle of August. I'm still enjoying the S & C workouts (and benefitting from them), so I like the idea of keeping them in the mix for awhile.

[donnamp]

Thanks, Anne29, for your feedback! I'd be interested in an L&S/S&C rotation - it may be a good way to ease into L&S. Do you know if she is offering it currently?

Jenilu - you can definitely make this work for you - shorten the workouts, space them out, etc. By back improvement I mean reduced back pain - I had really bad lower back and hip pain last year - it has always been a chronic issue, so I can't definitively point to what caused it - but I am happy to say I'm pretty much pain free now. It is like a miracle, b/c my back has bothered me for years and now, all of a sudden, I really don't notice a lot of pain. I don't exactly know what caused the improvement - I did start doing CS regularly in Jan/Feb timeframe - but I had done bouts of CS in the past, too and still had back pain. I had been doing Pahla B's workouts and as much as I like her personality, I think there were things in those workouts that really aggravated my back and I stopped doing them completely last fall. Just not sure, but thankful. I did also get wise about modifications and skipping and substituting - and I think that is a big part of getting out of pain - I don't think we are all meant to do everything and sometimes we just have to find a substitute or modification or just skip something entirely. I avoided all ab crunches for a long time - and I think that helped, too, I am doing some now, but not a ton and w/ caution - slow pace, dropping out early if I need to. If there is one thing I can take away from my workouts w/ Pahla B - "there are no exercise police" so make it work for you.

Take care,

Donna

[JENILU]

Originally Posted by donnamp

Thanks, Anne29, for your feedback! I'd be interested in an L&S/S&C rotation - it may be a good way to ease into L&S. Do you know if she is offering it currently?

Jenilu - you can definitely make this work for you - shorten the workouts, space them out, etc. By back improvement I mean reduced back pain - I had really bad lower back and hip pain last year - it has always been a chronic issue, so I can't definitively point to what caused it - but I am happy to say I'm pretty much pain free now. It is like a miracle, b/c my back has bothered me for years and now, all of a sudden, I really don't notice a lot of pain. I don't exactly know what caused the improvement - I did start doing CS regularly in Jan/Feb timeframe - but I had done bouts of CS in the past, too and still had back pain. I had been doing Pahla B's workouts and as much as I like her personality, I think there were things in those workouts that really aggravated my back and I stopped doing them completely last fall. Just not sure, but thankful. I did also get wise about modifications and skipping and substituting - and I think that is a big part of getting out of pain - I don't think we are all meant to do everything and sometimes we just have to find a substitute or modification or just skip something entirely. I avoided all ab crunches for a long time - and I think that helped, too, I am doing some now, but not a ton and w/ caution - slow pace, dropping out early if I need to. If there is one thing I can take away from my workouts w/ Pahla B - "there are no exercise police" so make it work for you.

Take care,

Donna

That is wonderful about your back!! I wonder if its all the posture involved in the workouts, as well as balance, which builds the core, which takes strain off the back? Maybe? Maybe you should keep some of these kinds of workouts in whatever weekly plan you do next to keep the healthy back feelin good! I a so happy about all you said!! Losing some pain and building some muscle is very important to me right now (I'd love to lose weight, but I wanted that even when I was itty bitty years ago, so thats just a mental thing I gotta work on while trying to be the best I can and hopefully feel a little better and have more energy)


I want to chime in, for you and everyone else, thank y'all so much for y'alls comments, descriptions and reviews!! Bless y'all!!

[Anne29]

Originally Posted by donnamp

Thanks, Anne29, for your feedback! I'd be interested in an L&S/S&C rotation - it may be a good way to ease into L&S. Do you know if she is offering it currently?

Donna, It's not available yet, but I asked Jessica when it'll come out and she said August 22. She'll open L & S up for purchase again then and the next round of that will start on Aug 29. But C & S/L & S combo rotation will be 12 weeks long. I'm leaning towards doing that, just because I'm a variety junkie.

(She's really responsive on the L & S site, btw. I posted the question and got a reply later that day.)

[donnamp]

Thanks, Anne29! I may purchase then - I think I would do better w/ a rotation that mixes the two sets as well - variety!

Jenilu that is a good point about balance, I wonder if some of the reasons why Pahla's workouts did not agree with me may have been b/c I was not strong enough in my core to do them. Her stuff looks easy upon viewing it but it does have some balance and core challenges for sure - which would definitely highlight any imbalances you may have.

Donna

[JENILU]

Originally Posted by donnamp

Thanks, Anne29! I may purchase then - I think I would do better w/ a rotation that mixes the two sets as well - variety!

Jenilu that is a good point about balance, I wonder if some of the reasons why Pahla's workouts did not agree with me may have been b/c I was not strong enough in my core to do them. Her stuff looks easy upon viewing it but it does have some balance and core challenges for sure - which would definitely highlight any imbalances you may have.

Donna

Yes! Exactly! I can think about that and see it more when someone else is talking about the workout than when I am doing them myself, but I know you have to use your core to keep your back from hurting and you use it all for balance and posture, so it makes sense. Now I must find a way to do this!